Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services.

3 Reasons to Buy Cisco

There are lots, but here are three biggies.

No matter what's going on in the market or a specific company's history, there are always reasons to consider buying shares in a business. After all, some of the best opportunities in stocks are born from historically bloody times.

Motley Fool CAPS hosts a boatload of opinions from its more than 115,000 members on more than 5,400 stocks, giving good reasons to own -- or sell -- a stock.

In the case of networking equipment giant Cisco(NASDAQ:CSCO), 7,715 members have given a bullish or bearish opinion on the company. Scouring the detailed information, here are three of the top reasons members say to buy Cisco today:

Moat/competitive advantage. Many CAPS members see Cisco as a best-in-class company, one that dominates by investing heavily in new technology -- like its focus on Web 2.0 today -- that sets it even further apart from competitors like NortelNetworks(NYSE:NT) and Juniper Networks(NASDAQ:JNPR). The "anchor-tenant" position that Cisco holds gives it a huge advantage, positioning the company well to profit from future trends in networking.

Gobs of cash. Investors have always liked Cisco for its ability to generate lots of cash, and recent results are no exception. Cisco’s free cash flow soared 22% to $10.8 billion for the full year 2008, and the company now sits on more than $26 billion in cash and short-term investments. The strong balance sheet gives it plenty of opportunity for acquisitions. In this tough credit environment, Cisco's strong cash flow gives it the upper hand in buyout negotiations. That cash cushion lets the company bide its time until potential acquisitions like EMC(NYSE:EMC) fall into its desired price range.

Bargain price. On a broad scale, Cisco is never a bargain stock. But it's P/E of less than 18 today is a mere shadow of the crazy multiples that investors were justifying along with stalwarts Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT) and Dell less than a decade ago. And with Cisco and other global giants such as GE(NYSE:GE) and Nokia(NYSE:NOK) selling about 25% below their 52-week highs, many CAPS investors see that as reason enough to buy.

To keep the universe in balance, CAPS publishes bullish and bearish opinions on every stock, which is why CAPS is such a great resource to check and balance your own analysis. To see what the very best CAPS members are saying now about Cisco, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look. It's all free, and your opinion's welcome, too.

TheMotley Fool Inside Valueservice looks to buy the best stocks at the best prices. To see which companies the analyst team believes are priced drastically below intrinsic value, take a free 30-day trial today.

Fool contributorDave Mockthinks three naps a day should be made standard, just like three meals a day. He owns no shares of companies mentioned here. Microsoft is anInside Valuerecommendation. The Fool'sdisclosure policyis a best-in-class policy.